I have been thinking about this decision for a very long time now. I see my kids and they have grown so fast. My husband and I wanted to have 4 kids but I just can't bring myself to decide that I want that forth one. But my 35th bday is coming and all I can think about is that baby. I don't know why. I kept praying about it and hoping in God's marvelous hand, He'll give a sign, if it's the right decision. And it dawn on me that it is the right decision. I don't want not to do this because I don't want to regret this one day, that we didn't try. I have 3 boys and I want a girl so bad. There is a fifty-fifty chance but If we don't try then we won't know. So today, I decided to try again. And I feel peaceful and happy inside. This is the last one and I will cherish every bit of joy this one brings us. I just hope and pray that it will be a girl this time.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Here are the highlights of our week. We went to the California Academy of Science. We have been staying home lately due to rain. And so last Wednesday it did not rain and we decided to do something out of the house. It was a wonderful fieldtrip. I also have some pictures of our craft this week, decorating cookies. I learned how to bake and cook very early in life. My mother was a very patient teacher. And so recently, my kids and I have been messing around in our kitchen, trying to teach them how to bake simple cookie recipe. I am also showing you a page of Alden's copy work this week. Everything went well this week. I am so glad we were able to go out and do something different.

Here are my kids in their fieldtrip to the CA Academy of Science.

Here are my 2 young boys (Alden and Taylor) with their decorated cookies.

Here is the picture of them being good in school time.

Here is a copy of Alden's copy work this week. This is our second week of copying and I thought he did a good job.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Well I always think of my everyday occurrence always attached to teaching my kids. The morning I wake up, it's the first thing I think about besides coffee (of course). And today, I want to share about my daily "mom/housewife" schedule. What did I do today?

Well, I got up(7am), went to kitchen and had coffee. Sat there ...just sat, looking around my kitchen. Thought of breakfast and so I made some blueberry pancakes and bacon for us to have. Called the kids. They sat down ,prayed and started eating as I head off to my room and made our bed. I transferred to the next room where my young boys sleep. The room was a mess. How can kids can make so much mess so early in the morning? I don't know. I started to declutter, put their toys in place, made their bed and sigh. I went back to the kitchen, sat with the kids, who are almost done. I ate.Tuesday...laundry...kids... SCHOOL! Spend all morning doing school. With an extra time in between while Jhoshua is doing Language arts, I went to do some laundry. After that, called my 2 young ones to start their "school". Letters and numbers and games for an hour. Then they break and I go to Jhosh and check his work. Morning is too fast. By 1130am, we did our LA, Science, History and Latin. Good day today. As I continue to load and dry clothes. Lunch comes along, I fed the kids. Had some time to clean up the house and sat with them and read a book .1 hr break for everyone!!! my kids need some time to move and burn energy.Afternoon comes... We did some writing. Then last...Math. Jhosh likes to do it last. So he doesn't feel that he is rush and can actually think. Believe it or not, this is the only subject I sit with him the whole time. We do the problems together so I know how much he knows. I just sit there, answer the problems myself and we compare answers. The two young ones are coloring at the table with us. This last for about an hour. Then we are done.I can finally sit down and check my email and relax. Wait for time to roll by...5pm...time to make dinner. Hubby is coming by 6, dinner by 630pm. After that, clean up the kitchen, give the young ones a bath... give myself a reading time and go to bed.Not too bad for a Tuesday.

Friday, January 22, 2010

1. MathWe are doing fraction and geometry this week. We are going back through some lessons in Saxon 7/6 and trying BJU 6, I picked some exercises for him to do daily as a review. He also finished his Singapore CWP5 this week. I don't know if I am going to get the next book or we might try Life of Fred instead. Still thinking on this one.2. Language ArtsGrammar, Spelling, CLE Reading > Everything in this area has never been a problem to us. Though I wished that I had discovered CLE Reading earlier. I love how it teaches comprehension skills. It doesn't give you too much vocabulary list but enough to remember them along and learn to use them. I am definitely keeping this in our curriculum.3. WritingWe are still on Unit 4 of IEW, Summarizing References and Writing Reports. We are using Usborne History Encyclopedia to practice his skills and so far I see improvements in his word choices for his quality adjectives and strong verbs. I also noticed that he doesn't use his checklist anymore when finalizing his draft which is really good.4. HistoryWe used this week to read more about the 13 Colonies. We finished them last week (mapping, timeline, and memorizing important dates). This week we just read about them to learn more about the differences of each colonies.5. ScienceChemistry - we are still on States of Matter. We have done 2 experiments this week.Zoo 1 - We finished studying about bats this week. My kids love this book. There is something about how the author narrates you the lessons that makes it interesting even for little kids. For my eldest, we read 6 pages each week(twice a week sched.) He outlines the first 3 pages and reports to me. And we do dictation on the last 3 pages.6. LatinWe are on lesson 16 of LC 1. I made him conjugate his vocabularies this week.7. ArtsWe are studying paintings of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. For this week we did picture study of " Woman with a parasol".8. Read AloudAmos Fortune Free Man. A very good read aloud. We also finished reading an adaptation of Don Quixote. My kids want more of Don Quixote so maybe we will try reading Don Quixote and Sancho Panza by Margaret Hodges this time.

Kindergartener

1. Math:We are adding Horizon Math K to our math curriculum. We have reached to a point in Saxon 1 that it is starting to be difficult for my son (addition and subtraction). For now while we focused on learning his addition facts and more manipulative games, we will stop using Saxon 1, continue with the Meeting book and add Horizon K.2. ReadingHe is getting better in his reading. He is very fluent now in blending sounds.3. HandwritingHe is almost done with his Handwriting Without Tears workbook. This week we started doing copywork. I found a McGuffey's Primer Copybook and the short sentences are perfect for him.4. NarrationThis week I also started narration with him. I am reading Aesop's Fable and he narrates the story back to me. He's doing a great job.5. ExtraHe is enjoying the cut and paste activities in Rod and Staff ABC Series. I love these books. We are working on Book C and D and he has been learning so much.

I think we did a lot this week because it has been raining here everyday and we just stayed home for the most part. I hope next week, we'll have a better weather so we could go outside for a little bit.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

We did PE this morning and went to the library. I packed some sandwiches with us and after a long and busy morning, we had a picnic in the park. Once in a while, I like taking my kids to picnic. We don't think about school and just enjoy being outside. After this wonderful lunch outside, we went and picked up the books I requested from the library. We went home happy.Now what do we do when we get home? The kids went to their room and just relax for a little bit. I on the other hand heads to my kitchen and decided to bake. An hour later, here is what I made:

I made some Biscotti for us to snack on. After this, we sat on the couch read some more chapters of Don Quixote and just enjoy our Wednesday afternoon. Sometimes, I just need to relax a little bit. Too much school time makes me a dull and irritable mommy. Days like this I look forward to.I also want to share a quotation I just read the other day that inspired me and thought it was a good one:

"I've come to the frightening conclusioin that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized."Dr. Haim Ginott

Just by reading this, it reminds me of the power I have as a teacher in my own home. It is in my hands how our day will play out. And today, I decided to make it fun and relaxing day for all of us. Give my kids an extra time to enjoy a cookie.

Friday, January 8, 2010

This week is not the normal week for us. The kids are still on vacation mode that they are all not excited to go back to school. Everything this week took so long to do, especially with my eldest.

Math: somebody gave me a BJU 6 Math and I liked how the format of this book and we decided to use it as a review book for my son. We will drop BCM (we finished Saxon 7/6) for now and resume using it next year.

Grammar/ Writing: This week my eldest practice his taking notes and making an outline. I made him outline his lesson in Science. He loves Zoology so this was an easy one for him. I think he is finally getting the benefit of outlining. He remembers more informations and understand more when he outlines what he reads.

Latin: We are on lesson 15 of Latina Christiana I. I have been watching the lessons with him lately. I find that he listens more and focus more if mommy is around. I do Henle Latin by myself and it's a lot easier now to explain to him the lesson every week.

History: We are almost done with Book 2 of History of US. My son is enjoying reading it. We follow the lessons at Biblioplan. I find that if we follow the schedule, we tend to do more and finish our history for the week.

Science: I gave him a test this week about the states of matter. I let him write down our vocabulary words for our past lessons. He also outlined his assigned reading for Zoology I.

Kindergarten this week:

Reading daily for 30 min.(split into 2 sessions 15 min.each time)

Math: We did not do any paperwork this week. I did 5 days using manipulatives. We did shape patterns, addition using his teddy bear counters.

Writing: He has been interested in writing his name. So he has been practicing doing that lately together with his Handwriting without Tears.

Phonics: He loves doing his Explode the Code Primer. He is on book B. He enjoys writing his letters using this book.

Read Aloud:

We are finishing Poor Richard this week. And I started reading an adaptation of Don Quixote which they are all enjoying. My eldest has been reading Calico Bush this week .

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

This is the book we are reading aloud this week. I haven't read the original classic but based on what I am reading, I think I will try to read the original this summer. This book adapted by Michael Harrison, is a well written adaptation and gives us a lot of laughter us we read along. The vocabulary is not hard to comprehend by young kids. Has a good flowing story, written in such a way that my children can follow and hold their attention. I read 3 chapters yesterday to them and they did not want me to stop, that is how good the book is. My 2 younger ones are 3 and 5, so when I tell you that they ask for more that means something to me. And my son(3) heard me this morning mentioning to my husband about the book, zipped right to our room and said" I love Don Quixote! He is so funny!" Well, I know this book will not sit in our book box very long. I am glad I checked it out from the library. I was so intimidated by the original that I didn't even want to try an adaptation but sure glad I did.